The NBA is strange. It seems to be the only major sport where the stars of the past frequently discredit the stars of the current. There is often and undertone of resentment and jealousy when former players talk about the game supposedly love, but more often seem turned off by.
The latest example is also one of the most extreme, and comes via Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq is never one to hold back, but his take on how the three-time NBA champion Warriors would’ve fared during the early 2000s boarders on the nonsensical.
It all stemmed from Draymond Green (shocker) saying that the Warriors would’ve “destroyed” Shaq in the high pick-and-roll with Stephen Curry if the Warriors played the three-peat Lakers. That take is perhaps controversial, but not especially unreasonable. The same can’t be said for O’Neal’s retort.
“Okay so in this era, Draymond wouldn’t have even been in the game for them to be in the pick and roll, ’cause he would’ve got three quick fouls,” Shaq said on Sirius XM Radio. “Now let’s take it back to our era. We wouldn’t even be playing [the Warriors] because they’d be the six or seven seed. You had us, you’ve got San Antonio, Sacramento, you had [Kevin Garnett], you had Utah, you had Portland. They wouldn’t even been a factor.
“So you know, pick-and-roll is okay, but we would’ve trapped Stephen, forced him to shoot or, if Steph would’ve got away, I would have told [Derek Fisher] ‘You know what? Steph’s getting too hot, let him drive to the basket.’ And I would have touched his ass up two or three times, and he wouldn’t have came back in there.”
“But again, it’s his opinion. I try not to get personal with people’s opinions. But however, Mr. Draymond, like you said, I would’ve torn your ass up on that block.”
A six or seven seed?! Shaq thinks the Warriors would have trouble with a Timberwolves team whose second and third best players were Terrell Brandon and Wally Szczerbiak? Golden State wouldn’t know how to deal with John Stockton and Karl Malone as they approached their 40th birthdays? How would the Warriors stop Damon Stoudamire from hitting corner threes?
Listen, these were all solid teams during their era, but the Golden State Warriors of the past few years had at the very least four and possibly five Hall-of-Famers in their prime. No other team, not even the Lakers, can say that.
Would Shaq’s Lakers have beaten the Warriors in a seven-game series during that era? Maybe. Would the Warriors have struggled to get out of the first round? Not a chance.
It sounds like Shaq has been inside too long.